Inverness man savagely stabbed friend six times after being collared for shirking work, High Court in Edinburgh hears
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SENTENCE has been deferred on an Inverness man who savagely stabbed a friend who had got him a job after the victim challenged him over his unexplained absence from work.
Sean Boyle repeatedly wounded his victim and armed himself again with a second knife and struck blood-stained Sean Pierce in the back with the weapon as he headed home following the attack.
Boyle (20) shouted: "I've stabbed him in the throat once, I'll stab him again. I'll do time for him."
Boyle admitted assaulting Mr Pierce (25) to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life on August 13 this year, when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh today.
Advocate depute Adrian Cottam told the court that it was understood that before the event the two were good friends.
"Around seven weeks prior to the assault Mr Pierce had secured the accused a job at his place of work," said the prosecutor.
"On the day of the assault the accused failed to turn up at work and could not be contacted. This prompted Mr Pierce to confront the accused after work with the accused's mother," he said.
"The accused's mother expressed her disappointment with the accused and left," he added.
Mr Cottam said: "There was what was described as ongoing 'niggle' between the victim and the accused regarding his absence from work throughout the period before the offence took place. This appears to have been the catalyst for the offence."
Boyle, a delivery assistant, of no fixed abode, was staying at a friend's house in Diriebught Court, in Inverness, at the time.
The advocate depute said Mr Pierce called at the address early in the morning to check if Boyle was ready for work, but got no response and went to his job.
"Over the course of the day he made numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the accused by phone and by returning to the flat," said Mr Cottam.
After work Mr Pierce went to bars in Inverness city centre and contacted Boyle's mother. They went to the flat at Diriebught Court where Boyle was with others.
Mr Cottam said: "The accused was upset by the arrival of his mother and by her expressing her disappointment at him."
She left, but Mr Pierce remained. "he confronted the accused over his absence from work," said the advocate depute.
"The accused appeared to have been angered by his mother's attendance at the flat and the victim challenging him about his absence from work," said the prosecutor.
An argument developed and Boyle accused Mr Pierce of being a "grass" before a fight broke out.
During it Boyle struck Mr Pierce on the left side of the face "with considerable force". The victim, thinking he had only been punched, continued to struggle with him on a sofa. He was then hit in the stomach.
Mr Cottam said: "The householder intervened and attempted to separate them and he saw that Boyle was holding a steel kitchen knife."
Mr Pierce managed to struggle free and went to the living room door but Boyle approached him again and struck him with the knife on the left leg and right arm.
The victim got out of the flat but Boyle, who was now stripped to the waist, followed him and a struggle continued.
Boyle was heard to shout: "I'm going to stab you right now."
Mr Pierce, who was bleeding heavily from an injury to the left side of his face, started to make his way home. Boyle ran back into the flat and returned with a second knife or blade and approached him from behind and struck him on the back with it.
Police who were called saw Boyle running through gardens and he was chased and detained. As he was led to an ambulance he said: "I'm gonna f---ing have him, that bastard in there."
Mr Pierce was taken to hospital and found to have sustained six stab wounds. His condition became critical because of blood gathering in his airway and he underwent surgery.
The advocate depute said: "CT scans confirmed that the injury to the left side of the face had penetrated the cheek and fractured the jaw bone."
A doctor said there was "a high possibility" that the victim could have died from a complication if he had not received medical treatment.
Mr Cottam said the victim had stated that he has "lost all confidence" as a result of events and was unable to return to work for five to six weeks after the attack.
A judge deferred sentence on Boyle, who was on bail at the time of the offence and has a previous conviction for assault
Lady Wolffe remanded him in custody for the preparation of a background report.
